We’ve touched before on other threads regarding some of the details and lyrical differences from the original Barbican preview of the show in 1985, but thus far we haven’t had a post specifically for the original lyrics from the preview, just bits and pieces here and there. Anyway, here’s a transcript of some of the things that appeared in the original English production that never quite made it much further than the preview stage. There’s actually two noticeably different 1985 Barbican recordings, one which is generally heralded as being a preview and the other which is typically just referred to as “1985 Barbican.” I reference both here.

Unusual or new lyrics are italicized for the sake of easy location. Lyrics in regular font are to provide some context within the song.

ACT ONE

Prologue: Work SongAs with the OLC, the prologue begins with the tinkly beginning of At the End of the Day rather than the ominous beats of Look Down. Unlike the OLC, the cymbal roll that connects AtEotD with Look Down is left out, leaving a more ominous sounding single note.

Where “I know she’ll wait, I know that she’ll be true” happens, there’s an added verse right before, probably removed just to cut down on time.

ENSEMBLELook down, look down, sweet Jesus doesn’t care.

CONVICTI killed a man, he tried to steal my wife.

ENSEMBLELook down, look down, she wasn’t worth your life.

CONVICTI know she’ll wait, I know that she’ll be true!

Prologue: On Parole/The BishopEverything continues here much as we hear it on the OLC, including the slightly slower instrumentals, but when Valjean asks the Farmer for his pay, one of his fellow labourer’s has something a little different to say. (As opposed to “you broke the law, it’s there for people to see...”)

VALJEANThis handful of tin wouldn’t buy my sweat!

LABOURERDo you believe a yellow ticket of leaveAllows a criminal like you to earn full screw?

VALJEANNow every door is closed to me, another jail another key...

Then upon encountering the Innkeeper’s Wife...

INKEEPER’S WIFEMy rooms are full, and I’ve no supper to spare, I’d like to help you really, all I want is to be fair!

Prologue: What Have I Done, At the End of the Day, I Dreamed a Dream and Lovely LadiesAs far as I’m concerned, there’s no noticeable differences here, certainly not lyrically. In the second version of the Barbican preview for At the End of the Day, the Foreman flubs and sings “you’d be the cause I had no doubt, of any man trouble hereabout, you play a harlot in the morning and then a harlot in the night.” This sounds more like he just missed his lines than that it’s an actual difference as in the other preview he sings the line correctly as “You'd be the cause I had no doubt of any trouble hereabout, you play a virgin in the light but need no urgin' in the night.” Probably the first flub just threw him and he started making stuff up.

Fantine’s ArrestAfter Fantine’s initial encounter with Javert, the chorus decides to get in on the action. This addition is actually right off of the original French concept, where the chorus has a verse in the same place, singing: “Qu’on emmene cette roulure, et qu’on la jette en prison (May we take away this cheap hooker, and may we throw her in prison.)Qu’elle s’y face une droiture et retrouve sa raison(May she show uprightness there, and come to her senses.*)”*Translation credit to Mme Bahorel.

FANTINEHoly God, is there no mercy? If I go to jail, she’ll die!

CHORUSTake this harlot now this minute, let there be a full report!Let her go back in the morning, let her answer to the court!

FANTINEGentle Jesus, won’t you save me? Are there tears enough to cry?

JAVERTIt’s the same pathetic story: “Please, Monsieur, my child will die!” I have heard such protestations every day for twenty years...

Where Javert usually protests with “But, Monsieur Mayor,” after Valjean’s “I will see it done!” doesn’t happen, but the second “But, Monsieur Mayor!” that follows Valjean’s repeated “I will see it done!” is there. This is true of both the 1985 Barbican recordings and the first of the “but, Monsieur Mayor!”s doesn’t seem to be added in until 1987 on Broadway.

The Runaway CartThe Runaway Cart sequence here has some considerable differences, specifically highlighting the fact that Valjean has to do this by himself because no one will assist him. Unfortunately, these lyrics are only on the first of the two Barbican recordings and are somewhat difficult to make out. Square brackets denote those that are most difficult to be certain of.

VALJEANIs there anyone here who will rescue the man? Who will help me to shoulder the weight of the cart?I will pay any man! [Thirty louis d’or more!*]I will do it myself if there’s no one that will!We can’t let him die like that down in the street!Can you all watch him die and do nothing at all?

FAUCHELEVENTDon’t approach me, Monsieur Mayor![The cart’s not gonna be holding!Not my poor mother would care if I should die!*]

There’s one other noticeable difference, which is that Javert says “mark upon his skin” rather than “brand upon his skin.” This may be a flub or an actual lyric change, but by the next 1985 Barbican recording, it’s been changed to “brand.”

Who Am I? Here after his shouted “2-4-6-0-1!” Colm also shouts “You know where to find me!” He doesn’t do this in the other 1985 Barbican recording, but he does do it (with less volume) in a later 1986 recording done at the Palace Theatre.

Come to Me and The ConfrontationNo changes from what we’re used to.

Castle on a CloudTo go along with the original version on the French concept, there’s an additional verse at the top of Castle on a Cloud, which matches the French lyrics pretty closely. Ils vont venir bientôt, et je n'ai pas fini (They will come soon and I am not done)de laver, de brosser, de cirer le parquet (Mopping, scrubbing, and polishing the floor)et puis sans un répit j'irai servir aussi (And then, without a rest, I will go serve as well)pourtant, elle me battra quand même (Yet she will beat me all the same)je sais mais je pris l'habitude (I know, but I am used to it)et ça me fait moins mal que ma solitude.(And it is no worse than my loneliness.*)*Translation credit to Mme Bahorel.

YOUNG COSETTEThey’ll come back any minute, And I’m nowhere near finished Sweeping and scrubbing and polishing the floor!It’s the same every day, oh please!Don’t let Madame hit me again!I should be used to it, but then -- I know a place where nobody has to work too hard!And where I won’t be lonely again!There is a castle on a cloud...

Interestingly, she still says “oh help, I think I hear them now! And I’m nowhere near finished sweeping and scrubbing and polishing the floors!” Which is... exactly what she had already said. Obvious cut is obvious. There’s also one other unusual line here:

MADAME THENARDIERHow stupid the things that we do,Like mother like daughter, now, that's what I say!

The line is difficult to make out as such in the Barbican preview, but is very obvious in the other 1985 Barbican recording as well as a 1986 recording from the Palace. It doesn’t seem to be changed to “scum of the street” until the Broadway production in 1987.

Master of the HouseThe intro here sounds like it’s extended by about two bars and matches the Original French Concept. I’ve seen some people comment that it’s missing the entire “my band of soaks” verse, but my recording of the 1985 Barbican Preview seems to have it intact, whereas the other 1985 Barbican is missing it. (Though it sounds like a cut in the audio.)

The Well/The BargainThe Well Scene got moved around a lot in the early years, this is what we go to directly from Master of the House; notice the repeating Castle on a Cloud. The other 1985 Barbican recording has this version of the Well Scene as well, but by 1986 at the Palace Theatre it’s been replaced entirely by the lalalalala’s.

YOUNG COSETTEThere is a castle on a cloud, I like to go there in my sleep.Aren’t any floors for me to sweep...

VALJEANDon’t be afraid of me, my dear, Tell me your name and have no fear, How cold it grows when the sun has set...

YOUNG COSETTEI’m not afraid. Monsieur, my name’s Cosette.

VALJEANNor will you be afraid again, I come to take you from this place, There is a better world, you’ll see.

YOUNG COSETTEGive me your hand, and walk with me.

VALJEAN and YOUNG COSETTELa lalalalala la la!

The Waltz of TreacheryProbably because of the placement of the Well Scene, there’s no “come Cosette, come my dear” bit at the end of the Waltz. Instead the waltz is played through twice, followed by the lead-in that usually accompanies Valjean’s Soliloquy and Javert’s Suicide.

StarsYep, Stars happens before Look Down. The lyrics that happen here pretty much match the OLC lyrics, which have since been tweaked somewhat, but since they’re on the OLC, I won’t bother with them.

Look DownAt this point, rather than introduce Marius and Enjolras, it’s Combeferre and Feuilly who come out to address the people. There’s some subtle changes to what they say and how the lines are broken up, as well as an added Beggars’ verse in the middle. For Feuilly’s verse, the music turns incredibly fishy and goes against the melody that he’s singing and generally sounds terrible. Neither the music change nor the beggar verse made it onto the OLC, but both are included as late as the 1986 change to the Palace Theatre.

COMBEFERREAs for the leaders of the land, As for the swells who run this show, Only one man and that’s Lamarque, Speaks for the people here below.

BEGGARSStarving for a meal, scrambling for a job,Biting into anything and finding not a crumb, Not a crumb, not a crumb, not a crumb, not a crumb.

FEUILLYLamarque is ill and fading fast, won’t last the week out, so they say,With all the anger in the land, how long before the judgement day,Before we cut the fat ones down to size? Before the barricades arise?

And lastly, a subtle difference in Gavroche’s lines;

GAVROCHEWatch out for old Thenardier, All of his family’s on the take.

The RobberyThere’s several sizable chunks of changed lyrics here as well as a couple that are missing and were added in later. To begin with;

THENARDIEREveryone here, you know your place;Brujon, Babet, Claquesous!You, Montparnasse, watch for the p’lice!With Éponine, take care,You’ve got all the hash, I’ve got all the cash.

MME THENARDIERHere come the students from our street, One of them is a peculiar gent.Our Éponine would kiss his feet, She never showed a scrap of sense.

From here, the lyrics continue on as normal between Marius and Éponine, but they stop just after “you’ll be in trouble here, it’s not your concern, you’ll be in the clear.” Rather than have Marius continue on with “who is this man?” they both remain silent as the music changes for Marius to bump into Cosette and there’s also no “I didn’t see you there, forgive me.” The lyrics pick back up presumably when Cosette and Valjean draw closer to Thenardier.

THENARDIERHow d’ya do? Spare a sou?God will see all the good that you do. Look, m’sieur, lost a leg!Hero of Waterloo now has to beg!Wait a bit, know that face...

The Robbery ends with Javert’s arrival as normal, but then Gavroche’s little addendum is played here in response to Javert clearing the street rather than immediately following Stars.

Éponine’s ErrandÉponine’s Errand starts off more or less intact, but there’s a couple lyrical differences here.

ÉponineThat cop, he’d like to jump us, but he ain’t smart, not he.

MARIUSDid you see that lovely girl?

ÉponineThat lovely two-a-penny thing?

MARIUSÉponine, find her for me...

and

MARIUSÉponine! Do this for me, but careful how you go,Your father mustn’t know, he’ll strike another blow.‘Ponine, I’m lost until she’s found!

The ABC Cafe/Red and Black, Lamarque is Dead and Do You Hear the People Sing?All three remain pretty much completely intact and identical to later versions. Joly’s “Marius, what’s wrong with you today?” is mirrored on the OLC and Gavroche shouts “Listen, everyone! It’s General Lamarque – he’s dead!” instead of the later “General Lamarque is dead!”

I Saw Him OnceAside from having been dropped from the production completely by the time it opened on Broadway, I Saw Him Once begins a little differently here in the preview than on the OLC.

COSETTEHow strange, how curious, how secret and how vain!This change, till now I’d seen myself as rather plain!What has happened to you, Cosette?Why, you don’t even know his name.And was he really there, and does he feel the same?I saw him once...

In My LifeThe intro here is different and Valjean comes in much sooner as Cosette’s opening chunks of the song aren’t present. Off the top, it begins with,

COSETTE Dearest papa, can I tell him of this?How can I tell him the things that I feel? How could he understand?

Followed by Valjean’s immediate entrance rather than the bulk of In My Life.

VALJEANDear Cosette, you’re such a lonely child...

Instead of Cosette’s usual response to Valjean’s “there are words that are better unheard, better unsaid,” she says something new that’s almost completely unidentifiable here that at least contains “come into my life” and perhaps something about “full of fear” and “a wall” ending with “in my life, I’m no longer afraid and I yearn for the truth that you know.”

A Heart Full of LoveA Heart Full of Love features some of the most altered (and insipid) lyrics thus far.

MARIUS My name is Marius Pontmercy.

COSETTE And mine's Cosette.

MARIUS Cosette, your name is like a song.

COSETTE My song is you.

MARIUS Is it true?

COSETTE Yes, it's true!

MARIUSA heart full of love!

According to Rebecca Caine's original libretto, these "original" lyrics weren't in fact the original. Prior to the preview they had been: Marius: "I saw you waiting in the square." Cosette: "And you were there." Marius: "At your feet." Cosette: "At your call." Which frankly makes very little sense, though "at your feet; at your call" makes a reappearance later in the show. (With better context to support those lines.)

The Attack on the Rue PlumetThe intro here features a longer verse for Montparnasse,

MONTPARNASSEYou remember, he’s the bloke who got away the other day, Got a number on his chest, perhaps a fortune put away. Took off like a guilty man, why would he want to disappear?So we’re gonna do him right, this time no one will interfere.

ÉponineOh Lord, somebody help me!

Around the part where Éponine screams, the lyrics are changed and very difficult to make out, both on the Preview recording and the other 1985 Barbican recording. In place of “well I told you I’d do it, I told you I’d do it,” Éponine sings something else and is answered by Thenardier. Hard to make out and be certain of lyrics are in square brackets.

Éponine[I have a wolf for my parent,*]And he doesn't scare me!

THENARDIERTHÉNARDIER:Listen to me,[What do we do with the slut?*] [There will be two this time?*]There will be something for all,It could be brilliantly won,You will have your share!

Upon These StonesHas a much longer intro, stretching out Do You Hear the People Sing into almost a proper Entr’Acte. Additionally, one of Enjolras’ lines from later on is brought forward, replacing “each man to his duty and don’t be afraid!” This is changed by the next Barbican recording. It’s totally possible that this is just a flub as it is a preview and Enjolras has a similar line later on in “At the Barricades” which is also “have faith in yourselves.”

ENJOLRASIn the heart of the city we claim as our own,Have faith in yourselves and don’t be afraid!

Instead of Grantaire’s “dogs will bark, fleas will bite” we get entirely different lyrics, to the best of my ability to make them out, this is what I’m hearing:

JEAN PROUVAIREAnd the people will fight!

GRANTAIREAnd it’s all thanks to you!Who gives a speech in the square!

LESGLESThey will do what is right!

By the next Barbican recording the usual “and so they might!” is back in, but instead of “dogs,” Grantaire says “some” for both lines.

The Letter, On My Own and Upon These Stones (At The Barricade)Unchanged, although like the OLC, On My Own has the “I came out here ‘cause I was told to” verse.

ENJOLRASHave faith, if you know what their movements areWe’ll play their games!

The most noticeable difference here is the absense of Little People in Gavroche’s calling out of Javert – it comes into play much later, near Drink With Me. Here, Gavroche still sings but it’s to a completely different tune that’s not used anywhere else. Between the two recordings there’s still a line that’s difficult to make out, it’s been square bracketed.

GAVROCHEGood evenin’, dear inspector,lovely evenin’ my dear![A charlie for a copper, to pay some cop*]I know who you’re supposed to be, Inspector JavertWho never showed no mercy to no one at all So don’t believe a word, not a bit moreThis time you’re reckoned without Gavroche!

GRANTAIREBravo, little Gavroche, you’re the top of the class!

*To the best of my ability to determine what he’s saying. The words are difficult to make out, but I think the gist of what we’re going for is that he’s being paid to spy on them. I'm pretty confident "charlie for a copper" is not right.

And lastly, a slight difference in Grantaire’s lyrics,

COMBEFERRE Though we may not all survive here, There are things that never die!

GRANTAIRE Better far to die a schoolboy Than a policeman, and a spy!

A Little Fall of RainThere’s almost no difference here from the A Little Fall of Rain we’re used to, though Marius sings “did you see my beloved?” as opposed to “have you seen my beloved?”

Night of AnguishNo noticeable differences.

The First AttackLesgles’ and Grantaire’s lines are flipped here:

LESGLESBy God, we’ve won the day!

GRANTAIRESee how they run away!

ENJOLRASThey will be back again, make an attack again!

Little PeopleHanging off of Enjolras’ speech about everybody staying awake “we must be ready for the fight, for the final fight,” the music continues in the same melody, with Grantaire taking it up.

At which point Gavroche decides to bound up and sing Little People as we know it, in all its extended glory, including the “a worm can roll a stone” verse as well as “Goliath was a bruiser,” after which point everyone on the barricade joins in and sings along.

Drink With MeAll of the opening parts here are sung by Grantaire rather than the trio of Feuilly, Prouvaire and Joly, yet Grantaire’s actual verse as we know it is missing, otherwise the lyrics remain the same.

Bring Him Home and Dawn of AnguishNo differences here! The Dawn of Anguish features a reprise of Drink With Me, led by Feuilly, that has since been removed.

The Second AttackThere’s a couple minor lyrical differences here,

ENJOLRASHow do we stand, Feuilly, make your report!

FEUILLYWe’ve guns enough, but bullets growing short!

and

ENJOLRASI can’t let you go, it’s too much of a chance!

MARIUSThe same may be said for any man here!

VALJEANLet me go in his place,He’s no more than a boy!

On my recording, Gavroche mounts the barricade and then the audio fades down and comes back up for him singing as he’s shot, which sounds like a technical thing on the recording (tape flip?) and not at all related to the performance. The lyrics here are noticeably different but by the other Barbican recording have been changed to the reprise of Little People.

GAVROCHEHow do you do, my name’s Gavroche!These are my people, here’s my patch!Not much to look at, nothing posh,Nothing that you’d call up to scratchSome fool, I bet, whose brains are made of fat,Picks up a gun and shoots me down.Nobody told him who he’s shooting at, He doesn’t know who runs this town. Life’s like that, there’s some folk missed the joke. That’s three, that’s three, that one has done for meToo fast, too fast, they’ve got Gavroche at last. So never kick a dog because he’s just a pup, You better run for cover when the pup grows –

The Final BattleThe mystery of the "unintelligible screaming" has been cleared up by Auf die Barrikaden reaching out to Rebecca Caine. According to her original libretto, those garbled lines are actually:

Based on the current distribution of lines, I would put forward the argument that Student 1 and Student 2 are Combeferre and Courfeyrac. The current order of lines is Enjolras, Combeferre, Courfeyrac and then Enjolras again, but "let 'em pay for each death with a death of their own" seems a bit cold for Combeferre. As these lines mirror the current lyrics of "make them pay through the nose; make them pay for every man!" but in reverse, maybe Combeferre and Courfeyrac are reversed as well.

Dog Eats DogHere the overall chorus features different lyrics and is repeated twice:

THENARDIERSomeone's got to collect their odds and ends As a service to the town.It's a world where the dogs eat the dogs,And the worst is as good as the best.It's a dirty* great sewer that's crawling with rats,And one rat is as good as the rest I raise my eyes to see the heavens,And only the moon looks down!Here’s a tasty ring!

And then in the second half of the song, again:

THENARDIER... when the gutters run with blood!It's a world where the dogs eat the dogs,And the worst is as good as the best.It's a dirty* great sewer that's crawling with rats,And one rat is as good as the rest I raise my eyes to see the heavens,And only the moon looks down!The harvest moon shines down!

*In the second Barbican recording the word “dirty” is “stinking.”

The transition music of Valjean moving through the sewers is entirely different and not featured anywhere else in the show.

Javert’s SuicideThe confrontation at the beginning of Javert’s Suicide is missing the “look down, Javert, he’s standing in his grave!” bit, instead, Javert sings a couple of new lines and then goes directly into the Suicide.

VALJEANCome, time is running short!

JAVERTGo, take him, I’ll be waiting at the door!I’ve never known a man like you before!A man, such as you. ... Who is this man, what sort of devil is he?

There’s also some altered lyrics in the Suicide itself, though they’re difficult to make out.

JAVERTDamned if I'll live in his caper of grace*Damned if I'll live in the debt of Valjean*I'll spit his pity right back in his faceThat is the law, or is sanity gone?There is nothing on earth that we shareIt is either Valjean or Javert!

These lyrics are changed to “damned if I’ll live in the debt of a thief,” etc. etc. by the next Barbican 1985 recording. *Lyrics suggested by Dr. Craven

TurningThere’s no differences here though after “fighting for a new world that would rise up like the sun,” the following line of “where’s that new world, now the fighting’s done?” is missing. It’s been added back in by the next Barbican recording so it may be a flub rather than an omission.

Empty Chairs at Empty TablesNo changes here!

Every DayThe only difference here are just in some of Cosette’s lines:

COSETTEAnd we will be together every day.Every day!We’ll remember that nightAnd the song that we sang. A heart full of love, A night full of you!The words are old, but always true.

Valjean’s ConfessionThere’s a pretty substantial chunk of lyrics that are different here and musically arranged to match the orchestrations of the French concept recording.

VALJEAN Not another word, my son,There's something now that must be done.Monsieur, I cannot stay a night beneath your roof, I am a convict, sir, my body bears the proof.My name is Jean Valjean. I never told Cosette, I bear this guilt alone,And this I swear to you, her innocence is real. Her love is true.Our love, our life, are now her own,And I must face the years alone.

MARIUS I do not understand, what's the sense of it all? Is the world upside down,Will the universe fall?If it's true what you say, and Cosette doesn't know, Why confess it to me?Why confess it at all?What forces you to speak after all?

VALJEAN You and Cosette must be free of reproach, It is not your affair.There is a darkness that's over my life,It's the cross I must bear.It's for Cosette this must be faced, If I am found, she is disgraced.

MARIUS What can I do that would turn you from this...

After this point, the Confession continues on as we know it.

The Wedding Chorale/Beggars at the FeastThe lyrics to the Wedding Chorale are repeated a second time and sung in counterpoint between two groups, but the lyrics themselves are unchanged. Whereas there’s an extra little bit for Thenardier when he explains having seen Valjean in the Sewer, unfortunately it’s difficult to make out and doesn’t exist in the other Barbican recording.

THENARDIERI was there, never fear,Even got me this fine souvenirHe was there, her old dad,[...] and fleecing [...]Rob the dead, that’s his way –

MME THENARDIER[... the five hundred you paid!*]

MARIUSI know this, this was mine, Surely this is some heavenly sign!

THENARDIEROne thing more, mark this well, It was the time that the barricades fell!

This is actually incredible Like, we need to make the Abaisse equivalent of the Tonys, just so we can award you something shiny for this, because this is an amazing resource and obviously something that took a ton of work!I've never had the patience to sit and listen and figure out that recording in its entirety. So glad to have this to refer to.

Some of the lyrics are so terribly cringeworthy! Though I rather want to refer to Marius as a "peculiar gent" now

Gavroche's death is actually *awful*. Like, stunningly bad

Grantaire doesn't seem to have his character though, that makes me rather sad

It's interesting how there appears to be a lot more English slang in it at this stage!

Bits I actually really like:The Thenardier bit in the robbery about Hero of Waterloo, lost a legMarius' bit in Valjean's Confession"It’s the same pathetic story: “Please, Monsieur, my child will die!” "Fauchlevent having lines while under the cart

Acaila wrote:This is actually incredible Like, we need to make the Abaisse equivalent of the Tonys, just so we can award you something shiny for this, because this is an amazing resource and obviously something that took a ton of work!

Seconded. Thank you to everyone who is a part of that, quoted or otherwise, and especially Havvy.

What is up with Gavroche's death, seriously? "Too fast, too fast, they've got Gavroche at last," really? Please tell me he's not being shot as he says that, the cheesiness would probably kill me. And it reminds me of "Down goes a teenage hoodlum!" which isn't serious at all. Foreshadowing, but not serious.

Not sure what I think of the exchange before the suicide. "I'll be waiting at the door" is kind of blah, but the lapse back to the Confrontation I kinda like.

Rebecca Caine is probably the main reason I keep the OLC in the car. Scratch that, she and Colm's Bring Him Home are the reason it's in the car.

Acaila wrote:The Gavroche bit is just painful. Geronimo - was the full version of Little People cut by the time they'd changed the lyrics for Gavroche's death? Wondering if those were related.

Gavroche's Death is back to the typical Little People reprise by the second Barbican recording, but the full and complete Little People is still present on the barricade, chorus bits included. Probably they just realized that those lyrics were dumb. I like to think so.

Thanks, Marianne! I have seen that one already, but it's actually for the second Barbican recording rather than the first Barbican Preview, so it only incorporates about half of the things I have listed above because they'd already been changed by the time that performance was recorded. Since I covered both of them here, I tried to mark when the changes occurred between them.

Last edited by deHavilland on Wed Jun 19, 2013 11:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

There's a couple places where I feel like the thought process is really obvious. Like here,

ÉponineOne more day with him not caring

MARIUS and COSETTEWill I ever love so true?

ÉponineWhat a life I might have known

MARIUS and COSETTEI was born to be with you!

"Will I ever love so true?" which I'm pretty confident is what they're singing sounds painfully clunky. But it and "I was born to be with you" are interchangeable musically, so they swapped them, added an "and" and then rephrased a little bit and we get our better flowing "I was born to be with you," "and I swear I will be true."

Thanks for this. I asked about something like when I first joined and although there are lots of great links out there, this is the first time someone has sat down and put all the lyrics to the first preview on the one page and in order. This can be used to recreate the libretto of the first show. Of course if I ever create something like this for my personal use you will get full credit. I have three 1985 shows but I think two of them are the same one with one being more cut than the other. I think the one marked "preview" or "unknown preview" is the second night. I think that one has most of Confrontation cut if I remember right. The first night I think is the one I have which is marked as "soundboard" though this i not true as it is just a good audience recording to me. I think the fact is mp3 does not help much. As a tiny bit of an "audiophile" I can tell you the master tape or a lossless low gen copy will sound 100 times better than the current version. It will take time to find it though as the trading community is full of poor bitrate mp3 copies.

I also have a 1986 recording which has about half the changes put here plus some new bits unique to that show (a bit after Waltz). So we have at least three different librettos before the 1987 "standard version".

I am going to create some kind of document I think with all information that has been posted on here. If I ever do anything with it I will ask permission first and give full credit. Another thing I would like to do is get casts lists for the show, mostly for the period 85+97.

Thanks again. If I can help with anything please let me know. I can listen to the bootlegs and try and figure some lyrics out.

Actually that brilliant site you linked! The site has reviews of each performer and Cavill's performance was rated quite highly. It is a shame there does not seem to be many (or any) recordings around. I will see what I can do though.

Yeah, he's a rare fellow (I guess most any of the early ones are really). There are some clips of him doing songs from it on youtube, but I don't think anything there from the actual time. I like what I've heard of him though, nice voice, little bit prim almost, but it seems to work.